Become A Football Legend
Chapter 42: Decision

Chapter 42: Decision

"No way! Your dad offered to take us back to Darmstadt, but she insisted she had to take the train. I was worried about her, so I took the train with her. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like she’s been avoiding you for a while now."

Lukas just ate his meal quietly from this point and occasionally glanced towards where she was sitting.

After finishing his lunch, he stood up from the table, and took one last glance at her.

His body locked up as their eyes met — just for a moment, though it felt like a full minute.

"Is this because of what happened the other day?" He thought as he walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

"Nice pass, Luke!" The assistant coach clapped his hands after Lukas executed a defense splitting through pass to the striker who buried it in the back of the net.

They were at the Riederwald training facility and were just completing a half-field 30-minute five a side match.

"How do you always do that, man?" Krisztián Lisztes, a Hungarian who joined Eintracht Frankfurt the same time as Lukas, asked.

They had grown closer due to joining at the same time and playing very similar positions, so they trained together.

Krisztián played both as a midfielder and a winger. Lukas had been learning how to play as a winger from him, and he had been learning how to pass and shoot like Lukas.

"Do what? I just saw him run, I saw the space, and I played the pass," Lukas responded.

"Yeah, right. Like it’s that easy."

"Hey Lukas!" Coach Dennis called out from the touchline where he had been watching the training from.

Lukas stopped walking out of the pitch and turned around.

"Come over for a second."

"Yes, coach?"

"Do you have plans after this? There is someone who wants to see you."

"I have to meet my agent after the training."

"Don’t worry, it won’t take time at all. Ten minutes at most."

"Alright then. That should be fine."

"Okay come with me."

Lukas followed Dennis as they walked into the administrative building and into Dennis’s office.

Inside the office stood a man; he was staring at one of the black and white photos which were hung on the wall. It was a photo of the club playing the 1960 European Cup against Real Madrid.

"You know you could have come down to the pitch to watch the training right?" Dennis asked the man.

"No, I’d rather you guys train in peace. There would be a lot of speculation if the players saw me."

"Well, that’s true. Anyway, I brought our star. Let me introduce you guys. Lukas, this is coach Dino Topmöller, the head coach of the first team. Dino, this is Lukas Brandt, our man of the moment."

"Hello Lukas, it’s nice to finally meet you."

Dino extended his hand for a handshake which Lukas took firmly.

"The pleasure is all mine, sir."

"I’ve been following your progress with the reserve team since your debut, and I’m very impressed."

"Thank you, sir."

"How about joining us for a session next week?"

"Can I do that? That would be wonderful, sir. I will be there."

"Yes. At this club, we value giving opportunities to those who are ready. It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough."

"Thank you so much, sir. I will do my best to not let you down."

"That’s all I ask of you. I will see you on Monday, then."

"Alright, sir. Goodbye."

Lukas greeted them before leaving the office.

"Did you watch the session from up here?" Dennis asked after Lukas had left the office as he walked to his desk.

"Yeah. His vision and ability to thread passes are superb."

"That’s not even his best attribute."

"It’s not?"

"Yeah. I think he is a better set piece taker than a lot of forwards in the first team."

"His free kicks are that good?"

"He has scored six of them from 20 chances in the reserve team."

When Dino heard Dennis’s claim, he found it ridiculous.

"Even if the defending in the Regionalliga isn’t great, to have a 30% conversion rate at 15? That’s unheard of."

"Well, I guess we’ll see just how good he is when he comes for training."

* * *

On the ride back home in Javi’s car.

Lukas was ingrained in thought about all the conversations he had that day.

From meeting coach Topmöller and being invited to the first team session, to meeting Marco and being informed about Dortmund’s interest and Eintracht’s proposal.

It felt like a lot was happening at once.

And the first thing Lukas thought about was, "Is João also from the future? How did he predict both of them so accurately?"

Javi, on the other hand, had his own concerns when he heard about Dortmund from Marco.

He knew his son’s career might benefit greatly from a move to Dortmund as highlighted by Marco, but he also wasn’t ready to send his only child three hours away from home.

Frankfurt was only half an hour away from Darmstadt with a high speed train, but Dortmund was located in a completely different state.

He had decided, however, to listen to Lukas’s thoughts on the matter before making a decision himself.

As he drove, he glanced at Lukas and saw him quietly staring forward, his right index finger tapping on his thigh to a tube only he could hear.

While stuck in traffic, Javi turned to Lukas.

"What do you think, Luke?"

"About what?"

"What else? The talk with Marco, of course."

"There’s nothing to think about, I want to stay here."

"Really? But Dortmund is great. Like Marco said, they have a proven system of raising youngsters."

"Well Frankfurt is not too bad either. And the difference isn’t good enough for me to uproot my life and move all the way to Dortmund."

"You really think so?"

"Why? Do you want me to move to Dortmund?"

"Honestly? No. Who wants their 15 year-old son to move to a different state? But I know it might be good for your career."

"Not necessarily.. I didn’t mention it, but I have been invited to the first team practice."

"Oh wow! Really? That’s wonderful news. You’re right, now all of a sudden 3. Liga doesn’t seem that enticing."

"Exactly. And I currently feel like I will get more opportunities with this team than if I move there."

"Yeah? Why do you think so?"

"I don’t know. It’s just a feeling."

"Okay then. You should always listen to your guts. If you’ve made your decision, I’ll contact Marco when we get home to inform Frankfurt of your decision."

"Thanks, Dad."

"I’m so proud of you, Luke."

The car ride was quiet from this point on as they drove out of traffic.

As Javi pulled into the parking spot and turned off the engine, "Do you think she’ll be proud of me too?" Lukas asked.

"Who?"

"Mom."

Javi stopped for a moment as he opened the door. Then he turned around and looked at his son.

"She’d be proud of you, Luke." He responded as he rubbed Lukas’s hair.

As if trying to hide his facial expression, he turned back around and quickly stepped out of the vehicle.

"So he’s still not going to talk about her?" He thought as he got off the car too.

* * *

Monday, Nov 12, 2024.

Javi knocked and opened the door to Lukas’s room.

He was laying on the bed sleeping on his right side with both arms tucked between his knees.

Javi looked at the time.

"It’s 5:47AM, I thought he’d be unable to sleep at all due to today’s training."

It was set to be his first session with the first team, and Javi realized he might be more nervous about the training than Lukas himself.

Javi had woken up early and was unable to go back to sleep so he made breakfast, but it still wasn’t 6:00AM yet.

"If he’s cold, why does he insist on sleeping in shorts?" He thought as he quietly stepped into Lukas’s room and covered him with the blanket which had been kicked to the floor.

He sat down by the bedside as he looked at his son sleep.

"I guess you’ve started getting curious about her. But I still don’t know if telling you would be the right thing to do. I don’t even think I can bear to tell you the truth about her.

When you find out though, I hope you forgive me."

Just as the words left his mouth, Lukas stirred, nodding slightly — as if answering him in his sleep.

"Are you awake?"

"....."

There was no response to his question.

"It must have been a dream. I wonder what he’s dreaming about."

Lukas, however, wasn’t dreaming; he was burying balls in the back of the net.

A/N: Hope you all have a lovely day/night. Please bless me with your GTs and Power Stones. Thank you all so much.

-Writ